NIL

[UteFanatic]

There’s been a lot of talk on Twitter, radio, and message boards about whether Utah’s excellent recruiting class is, in part, due to NIL offers. Obviously, the success of the last two seasons is probably the biggest reason why. Good players want to play for good teams and Utah is doing well right now. 

There have been some ridiculous numbers being thrown around. Dick Harmon (yeah, I know, not all that credible) has been saying all over radio and in articles that Utah is offering upwards of $500K for certain players. Is this true?  If so, where is this money coming from? If it’s not true, what is Utah’s NIL like, and how much is it factoring into this wave of recruiting success?

I never thought I’d see Utah have a top 20 class with an average recruit rating of 88. This is getting into elite recruiting territory. 

[EagleMountainUte]

The cognitive dissonance of that fan base is literally depthless.
Thanks for the reminder of how truly idiotic they are.

[ProudUte]

Dick Harmon simply makes things up because he cannot understand why any LDS kids would pick Utah over BYU.  There has to be an explanation and his is that Utah is giving money away.

I do NOT believe we promised Snowden 500k to come to Utah.  There is NO way that this is true.  We are getting kids here because we have a solid program with a lot of excitement, we are putting kids into the NFL, the family atmosphere, player development, etc.

Utah was slow to get the NIL going.  Whitt hates it.  It sounds like a consortium of businesses and donors are getting things organized.  The university cannot pay the kids.  It sounds like we have a decent NIL program developing thanks to local businesses and donors.

 

[UtesRule]

It wasn’t $500,000 for Snowden, it was for the California TE who Utah recruited who is currently committed to the Furd.

[D T]

That “California TE” is no longer committed to Stanford.

[CB]

I’m an LDS kid, and I couldn’t give you one single reason why anyone would pick BYU over Utah.

[dystopiamembrane]

I find comments like this quite interesting. I grew up in the church, albeit in rural Western New York. Growing up, I understood that BYU was the obvious choice for an active member who wanted to continue their spiritual growth and learnings. BYU was where one could find a wife and raise a family in the church. I was taught that BYU was the university of the church, attending BYU was God’s hope for LDS youth.

Has this belief changed among active members?

[Whitty]

You must be old as hell

[dystopiamembrane]

I am old as hell.

[dystopiamembrane]

That said, what is the current teaching regarding BYU in the LDS church?

[Dallas]

I don’t recall any “teachings” about Byu in the church. Some members, mostly older folks, conflate the school and the church, but those folks appear obviously biased as I always was toward the U.
If there’s any sentiment toward Byu from church members that I have sensed it’s that students who go there are pretty fortunate to have their education heavily subsidized.

[dystopiamembrane]

Thank you for your response. I am one of those older folks, it seems. What is the current reasoning offered by the church as to why BYU is subsidized for members?

[dystopiamembrane]

And, does the church still offer viewing of football games over their satellite system? As young men, we were invited to go to the stake center to watch BYU football games on the same screen that conference was broadcast on.

[dystopiamembrane]

Is satellite television still a thing?

[Extra Medium]

For kids who grow up as 1 of a few LDS kids in their school I can see the draw of BYU for religious and social reasons. Utah has the 2nd highest LDS student population in the world. BYU isn’t the end all be all for LDS kids anymore. I think our coaches track record of developing talent such as switching kids positions and putting them in the league speak volumes about the program. BYU fans have the biggest persecution complex in all of college football. They’ll make excuses, lie, and gossip all day as long as it feeds their narrative. The ONLY reason BYU is relevant is because of the church and the biggest reason top tier non-LDS talent doesn’t attend BYU is because of the church. BYU could have every LDS kid in all of college football and they would still struggle to compete year after year in a P5 conference. The lack of depth and speed at every position will be on full display for the next few years.

[Central Coast Ute]

This has never been the case. It has never even been physically possible for all members to attend BYU and therefore, could not be taught that you need to go there. Not only that, most presidents of the church to date attended the U

[dystopiamembrane]

I understand your logic and your arguments, but that is exactly what I was taught.

[prestitute]

I was raised in the Bay Area then moved to Sandy/SLC (now Cottonwood) when I was 13 (went to 8th-12th grade and college in SLC). The view of BYU in the Bay was more like you described for LDS kids, but in Utah, there was a lot less of that. I went to Brighton 94-97, and even back then my ward was pretty well split Utah/BYU. The school itself was probably 55%ish BYU 35%ish Utah fans with the rest not really caring. There was a lot more overlap in who would go to each school and a much smaller push to get your kids to the Y than there was from LDS families in the Bay. With institute and so many of the leaders and locals being U Alums, inside Utah, there was less overall pressure to pledge allegiance to the Y. You could have all the ‘best’ parts of the BYU experience at the U without the very many downsides. 

The thing is, it was in this time period that the rivalry really shifted. It went from a case of BYU totally dominating everything. Kids see Utah succeed. Hell, even up here in Boise, I see a lot more Utah gear than I used to, and lots of kids without traditional allegiance to the U have started liking it. I think kids and savvy parents are also wising up to some of the terrible s**t going on at the Y. Even if I were still a member, I would have a hard time sending my kids there. I hate that the Y can basically blackmail kids into compliance or threaten to withold credits and such over matters that should not have weight in their academics. I don’t think it as bad now as it was in the older days, but academic freedom is still a joke down there. Add that to the church not putting nearly as much emphasis on BYU athletics as a missionary tool in terms of financial support, and you have a lot of things going against the Y. The U gives you a lot of the same experience possibilities, but as an opt in and opt out. The choice is pretty clear to many, many kids. 

[dystopiamembrane]

Thank you for this info.

[EagleMountainUte]

Bag piping and soaking?

[Yergensen]

And planking and jump humping?

[SoCarolinaUte2]

DJ & PK had Harmon on the radio this morning asking specifically about the $500,000. Harmon acknowledged that USC offered $500,000 and then said “I was told Utah then entered the talks” That was NOT what he wrote in his article. They did not get him to say Utah offered him that amount of Money. Harmon wrote a very deceitful article because in the paper he never brought up USC. But asked point blank on the radio what his sources told him, he didn’t dare lie. 

 

It’s on thier Podcast from this morning. DJ & PK let him off the hook real fast.

[Hellhound152]

File this under “I don’t care how…”

[rbmw263]

I mean, in this era, you absolutely cannot pull in a top 30 class without playing the NIL game. That said, Utah would not be able to get this class with NIL alone. Snowden himself said that Utah beating USC, and the defenses performance against the heisman winner, was the deciding factor in his recruitment.

Utah couldnt have this class without NIL, or its success on the field. But in the non NIL era, they’d still be pulling a top 25 class. Therefore the on the field results are more important. That is true for any non blue blood/name brand team

[DrJazzy]

This has been such a surprising development. I thought we were absolutely getting lapped by NIL, including by our rival, BYU. 

But we absolutely killed this year in recruiting. Absolutely, some of it is based on our current successes. But you can’t have a class this good without some meaningful NIL deals. Not sure who is doing all the gathering and deal making, but props to them. We are clearly more competitive than I thought. The CJ Blocker commit is a great example – lol he def got a small bag from us. 

Overall, my worry with NIL was that we wouldn’t be able to compete. But I am happy to admit I am wrong.  

LFG Uteesssssd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So proud of the University and the team. 

[Author]

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